After Lola disappeared in December, a fairly dark female appeared on the scene. After a few weeks, this relationship didn’t work out and she left the park.
Pale Male now has a second “girlfriend”. They seem to be much more of a couple and I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes the permanent mate.
A group of four owls was found rousting in an Austrian Pine on Cherry Hill on Saturday morning. When I arrived in the afternoon, only three were visible.
A squirrel decided to harass the owls, soon after I arrived. It broke off small branches with pine needles and dropped them on the owls. Eventually, the squirrel got two owls to move to other trees. One to a tree in the open, and one to another nearby pine tree.
News of these owls has spread, so I’m posting these pictures. If you go see these owls, remember that they are day sleepers with very good hearing. Let them get some shut eye, if you visit them.
I was looking for owls Friday night in the north of Central Park. The hunt was unsuccessful but I did get to watch the activity that occurs after darkness falls.
Around the Loch and The Pool this means Raccoons and Rats coming out for the night, and ducks figuring out where to sleep for the night.
What surprised me this evening was a Great Blue Heron that flew in fifteen minutes after dark. While each winter, a sighting of a Great Blue Heron in The Loch, especially when most surounding water bodies are frozen isn’t unusual, it always surprises me.
I went looking for Pale Male’s second “girlfriend” of the winter, but missed her each afternoon this weekend. My understanding is she’s much easier to find in the morning!
Here are some shots of Pale Male in the rain on Saturday.
Long-eared Owls (LEO) are a special treat in Central Park. They sometimes are found during spring and fall migration, but usually they arrive mid-winter for a few weeks when there is dense snow further north.
This Long-eared Owl was very accommodating. It was in a section of a tree without too many branches near its perch. It spent about a week in the same tree and has now moved on.
As we curse all of the recent snow, remember that it can bring Long-eared Owls to Central Park, Bald Eagles to Fort Tryon and Inwood Hill parks (there have been sightings this week), and Hawks to various backyards and fire escapes thought the city.
(These pictures are from January 27th. I delayed posting them to protect the Long-eared Owl. It was in a very public place, and would have been harassed if news about its location had been made public.)
A single picture of Pale Male from Sunday. The cold weather made it hard to hawk watch!
